I’m wishing everyone a warm and very Merry Christmas, thanks for keeping Christ in Christmas.

Mr. Coopshaw wrote to the paper and complained a couple of people butted into his group’s conversation and handed them a flyer on wind turbines when he was trying to enjoy his pretty parade. I just wanted to say to those lucky enough to have life on an even keel with no real worries for his future or that of his children and grandchildren, it’s you who I’m looking for, to help you get your head out of the sand and offer you this alternate perspective;

Some people have spent many hours above and beyond their regular work week – on top of the usual riggers of life to fight for their unalienable rights. Not just their own liberty, but liberty for their neighbors too. These people don’t have time to plan a parade, or even stand and watch one – they are busy fighting for their property Mr. Coopshaw. Sometimes life doesn’t allow for downtime to chill and have a good time, sometimes you just have to keep fighting and roll with the punches.

What they were doing at the parade had nothing to do with politics for them, nothing to do with political correctness. It was all about constitutional correctness and the right to keep what they’ve worked hard for all their lives. If you were threatened, you would’ve been thankful people like that were there to help your cause, to walk up and down a parade line (perfect opportunity to reach many people in a short amount of time) in the cold, while subjecting themselves to irritable responses from less tolerant people. They also work long lists of phone numbers and equally long lists of emails getting the word out to drum up support or to warn others they too are being threatened.

They organize, they picket, they make their presence and opinions known for meetings, they do research and desperately try to gather all the information they can come up with, for a working plan to get an important message right for numerous arguments they have to win. Maybe they even have more work hours put into their cause than what was allotted for organizing the parade you’re trying to watch – undisturbed.

Perhaps you were able to go home and have sugar-plum fairies dance in your head while they had to get geared up for another packed filled day, until they no longer have a choice. But, they do it while they still have a window, when the problem’s at hand. They don’t want another government subsidized, wrong solution to deal with, that negatively affects their private property.

When you’re trying to protect yourself there is no right time or place, it’s all the time and anywhere. You might have missed a float, but taking a little interest in someone asking for help is worth a little distraction, listen to them a moment and take the flyer they put together for you. Have a little heart with a smidgen of empathy, if nothing else – admire their integrity, productivity and passion.

Your mind telling you to get upset was not right, I’d have to admit your attitude was more unwarranted than theirs.